Live Like a Viking: Discovering the Secrets of the Vikings

By Author / Illustrator

Claire Saunders, Ruth Hickson

Genre

Non Fiction

Age range(s)

Publisher

Button Books

ISBN

9781787081376

Format

Hardback

Published

11-06-2024

Synopsis

Live Like a Viking is a fascinating and informative journey back in time to find out what it was really like to live in the Viking age.

The Vikings have a fearsome reputation as warriors. In reality, they were much more than that. From farmers and craftsmen to musicians and explorers, Viking society and culture has left a lasting impression on our modern world.

At the peak of their power, the Viking population soared to two million! Get ready to discover what it was like to live in this epic era. Learn about out how these master seafarers invaded countries across Europe using iconic wooden longships, about family life, their beliefs, the place of women in society, how they dressed and what they ate, as well as their language, customs and rituals.

The book also includes step-by-step craft activities and recipes to have a go at. Dotted throughout are fictional accounts by a young girl that bring the Viking era to life and enable readers to understand what it was like to live like a Viking.

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Reviews

Live Like a Viking: Discovering the Secrets of the Vikings is a beautifully presented and incredibly informative non-fiction book that delves into the history of the Vikings. These infamous, "bloodthirsty raiders" were so much more than fierce warriors on the hunt for loot and land.

In this wonderfully illustrated text, the many aspects of Viking daily life, customs, skills and society are expertly explored, explained and celebrated. Clear, bold engaging text is laid out in easily-accessible sections on a page and with engaging, colourful drawn pictures.

The reader could be absorbed in reading this cover to cover or use the excellently styled contents page to dip in and out of the many topics covered. As well as more well-known Viking facts( their longships and longhouses), there are details that enlighten and engage the reader with the level of indepth knowledge; we read about how Law and Order was decided on (sometimes with fights known as Holmgang that the Vikings believed the gods would judge), and how the Vikings divided their day into eight equal parts, using the position of the sun to tell morning from afternoon and evening.

Viking life is made lively and interactive by the inclusion of some fantastic recipes for Viking foods (Pea and Spring Onion soup sounds appealing), and instructions for fun craft activities, such as making a Viking Drinking Horn. These elements elevate this non-fiction look at the past and bring it to life vibrantly. Also within the book, there are fictional characters to meet. Several sections are told using the narrative voice of a young Viking girl, Astrid , who leads us through the past with her stories of her father returning from a summer of raiding; recounts a Viking burial of neighbour Grim Redbeard; and tells the reader the story of Thor's stolen hammer.

We feel immersed in aspects of the past, eager to replicate parts of their culture with the activities and fascinated by the finer details of their way of life (and death).

56 pages / Reviewed by Jane Rew, school librarian